Mommathon

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Liam came to me tonight and asked me if the sun was going to explode in a million years. I told him that it would someday, but that it would be millions or billions of years from now.

He then burst into tears because he was worried that we wouldn't have anywhere to live when Jesus comes back if there isn't a sun then. I assured him that God would have it covered and there wasn't anything to worry about. I think he was reassured a little, but I could still see the little wheels in his head turning.

My neighborhood Bible Study group just finished this ten week study today. At first I was a little unsure about it. The reading was great, but there is also a video you watch every week that goes along with the lesson and that was the part that was bothering me. Beth Moore is so knowledgeable, but she is also very VERY!!!! She cannot be ignored and her personality can be a little over the top at times. She took a little getting used to, but she is very good at what she does and there is a lot to be learned from her. We are going to do another study in the fall and I am very much looking forward to it.

From April 2009

From April 2009

This was explained to me by Liam:

"Mom, did you know God is dog spelled backwards? And dogs are man's best friend and God is our best friend. It's like a food chain only it's a family chain."

Wise little man. :)

Liam and Colm were playing outside with their light sabers this morning when Liam got whacked in the head by Colm. Liam was upset and he did have a pretty good red spot on his cheek from it. Colm came over, looked at Liam, noticed the tears and said, "I guess I'm the chosen one."

He then apologized.

Where do they come up with this stuff????

Showing his classmates a picture from the day he was born.

From April 2009

Taking a trip around the sun to represent one year of his life. (They do it for every year they have been alive as they light each candle and show their classmates a picture of themselves for each year.)

From April 2009

From April 2009

Very proud of his special birthday hat!

From April 2009

Colm has been waiting ALL year to be able to play on the 5-year old equipment...today he FINALLY got to do it!

From April 2009

Colm wanted to go to Cici's for his birthday dinner.

From April 2009

From April 2009

I had mentioned in an earlier post that Liam's best friend is moving. They aren't gone yet, but they will be in four days. He came over to play today after school and we have cleared our calendar for the rest of the week so the boys can play together after school as much as they want. They LOVE to play video games together and they both know WAY too much about Pokemon, Bakugan and the like, but that is what makes them such good friends.

From April 2009

I will miss this.

I am so excited!!! The circus is coming to town and it is not JUST a circus, it is an old-fashioned circus with a tent!!! It is sponsored by JCCC and is coming in just a few weeks. We have never taken the boys to a circus and this seems like a good place to start. I am even more intrigued after reading Water for Elephants.

Monday-Fajitas
Tuesday-Boca Burgers and Cole Slaw
Wednesday-Asian Salad
Thursday-Colm's Birthday-out to eat
Friday-School Picnic
Saturday-Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup
Sunday-Tatum's Confirmation Dinner

The Dream was our latest read for Book Club. I had recommended it to the group because I had read another book of his call The Invisible Wall which I had really liked. Both are memoirs; one focuses on his life with his family once they immigrate to the United States and the other is about life with his family on a very poor street in England. I think I liked The Invisible Wall better, but would really recommend either one.

Colm is going to turn five this week!!!! We started off his birthday week with a family birthday party.

That's my boy!!!!

From April 2009

Liam and Colm checking out the new Transformer. (I have no idea why Colm has his Mickey hat on.)

From April 2009

From April 2009

The grandmas dishing out cake and ice cream.

From April 2009

The guys went outside after cake and ice cream to play with Colm's new baseball stuff. This is Colm with his Great-Uncle Rick.

From April 2009

Enemy Women is set in southeast Missouri during the Civil War and follows, Adair, a young woman whose family is torn apart by the war. She ends up in a woman's prison in St. Louis and then has to find her way back home not knowing what has happened to her sisters or her father.

Sunday-Easter dinner
Monday-BLT Rigatoni (I use spinach instead of arugula)
Tuesday-Tacos
Wednesday-Salmon, Green Beans, Rice
Thursday-Pasta and Meatballs
Friday-Out to eat
Saturday-Migas, fruit
Sunday-Colm's family birthday party

From April 2009

Liam got up hours before Colm did, so I caved and let him dig into his basket by himself.

From April 2009

A very groggy Colm

From April 2009

From April 2009

From April 2009

We had some very yummy Hot Cross buns for breakfast.

From April 2009

My boys on Easter morning on our way to church

From April 2009

In the afternoon we went to Sean's aunt and uncle's house for food, fun and family. There was a new baby born into the family on Christmas Day, so there were FIVE generations at Easter dinner today. Amazing!!!!

Waiting for the dye to be ready.

From April 2009

Working together to tie dye an egg.

From April 2009

Our neighborhood had an Easter Egg Hunt today. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and lots of people came out and enjoyed all the festivities. I didn't get too many pictures since I was the go to person for the event, but here they are. Next week we are going to go to the hunt at our church so I can enjoy it and take pictures and the kids can get even MORE candy.

From April 2009

From April 2009

We FINALLY had our first soccer game today, it should have been our fourth, but with all the rain and wacky weather we have been having...The fields were still pretty muddy, but isn't it more fun to get all muddy anyways?

Warming up before the game

From April 2009

Waiting his turn to play

From April 2009

From April 2009

I got this from: http://www.mamawhatsfordinner.com/

Sausage-Cheese Muffins

Ingredients:

1 (1lb.) package ground pork sausage
3 cups all-purpose baking mix
1 1/2 cups (6oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1 (10 3/4oz) can condensed cheese soup
3/4 cup water
Directions:
Cook sausage in a large skillet, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and cool.
Combine sausage, baking mix, and shredded cheese in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

Stir together soup and 3/4 cup water, add to sausage mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into lightly greased muffin pans, filling to top of cups.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Servings: 15 muffins
Time to Prepare: 15 minutes prep; 20-25 minutes cook
Original Source: Southern Living

Let's just say the lady at Great Clips and I had a miscommunication and Liam ended up with the shortest haircut of his life; he looks like he is ready for the Army. It is not my favorite look on him and he doesn't like it either. I woke up at about 4:45 this morning and I was terrified that somebody at school was going to say something to Liam about his hair that would be hurtful. I couldn't get it out of my mind and so I just prayed about it. I was going to go have lunch with him at school today just to touch base with him, make sure he was okay and to give anyone who dared say something to him the evil eye. I decided not to go though. I decided he could handle it on his own. We had talked about what to say to anyone who might say something to him and I had to let him handle it on his own. He had a great day at school and a few kids did comment on his new "look", but no one said anything hateful and one teacher even complimented him. Thank goodness!!!

Well, it was going to happen sooner or later...Liam has read his first book in which the dog dies and the reader is brought to tears. It's my fault, too. I suggested he get it at the library this weekend. I remembered reading the book with my fourth graders, but I obviously didn't remember the storyline. I guess I just thought it was going to be more like Balto, which is one the boys' favorite stories. So, Liam told me he had finished it and I asked him what it was about. He started getting emotional immediately. As soon as he got past the first few sentences, he was sobbing in my lap and I suddenly remembered the plot. Oh, dear!!! I told him that there are a lot of books out there where the dog dies and they always seem to be books that you read in class. Why do teachers do that to the youth of America? I remember reading Where the Red Fern grows in middle school and crying. Then we watched the movie and I cried again. I had my class read it one year when I taught sixth grade and I cried then, too. Why can't we read happy books in school?

I had to laugh to myself this week as I was playing hide and seek with the boys. If you play hide and seek and Colm is hiding, he will hide with you. The problem is that Colm is a heavy breather and can be found very easily. Second, if you are hiding, the dog will follow you making you very easy to find. You can shoo the dog away as much as you want, it won't work. You can tell Colm to breathe more quietly, that doesn't work either. So, if you are playing hide and seek at our house, prepare to be found.

I have avoided going to Whole Foods in the past months because it is so stinking expensive. The grocery store has their own little "organic" section, but it isn't getting any cheaper either. Sean had a good idea. He suggested I take my receipt from the grocery store and highlight all the things on it that could also be purchased at Whole Foods and we'll see which is cheaper. So we went to Whole Foods yesterday with our highlighted receipt and it turns out that many of the things that we buy every week are cheaper at Whole Foods: cereal, eggs, milk, soymilk, yogurt, cereal bars, pasta sauce and bananas. There were probably a few other things as well, but these are the ones that really struck me because we buy them all the time. There were also definitely some thing that were not cheaper. It's good to know that there are options though.

I pack a lot of lunches. Sean, Colm and Liam all eat cold lunch most days of the week if not every day of the week...that's a lot of Ziploc baggies! At the beginning of the school year I considered using cloth sandwich wraps, but figured I would end up washing them all the time. Saving on plastic and landfills, but using up water washing the darn things all the time. Today I found a happy medium...wax paper sandwich bags. I have been using regular wax paper to wrap Sean's sandwiches for quite a while, but it's not practical for some other things. I am not getting rid of my regular Ziplocs, they definitely have their place, but I think there are a lot of things I could be putting in the wax paper ones, too. If you want some, they are available at Whole Foods.

Sunday-Spaghetti and Meatballs
Monday-Pork Machaca
Tuesday-Mexican Salad
Wednesday-Sausage and Cheese Muffins, Scrambled Eggs, Grapes
Thursday-Salmon, Green Beans, Rice
Friday-Out to Eat

We have been waiting for Pizza Fusion to open for months. They had their "coming soon" sign out for so long we had started to give up on them. Well, it is open now so we thought we would go and check it out. I had a salad with Goddess dressing which was okay. Then we waited for quite a while for our pizza. I had a crimini mushroom, roasted tricolor pepper and zucchini pizza. I wish a had better things to say about it. My pizza was just okay. The crust was just okay, too, kind of burnt tasting. I tried the boys' pizza and it wasn't anything to write home about either. Sean's pizza didn't do much for him either. Verdict: Spin is much better and might even be a little bit cheaper.

Liam's best friend is moving. We have known for a few months now and have been able to ignore it because he wasn't moving until April. Well, April has arrived and his going away party is tomorrow. Liam woke up at 3a.m. this morning and I have a feeling this move weighing on his mind is the reason. Liam is such a sensitive little guy. I don't know how to get him through this. I am going to do my best, but it is going to be hard.

I saw a postman flip a pedestrian off today. Not only did he flip the guy off, but he used both his hands...a double birdy. I think there were some choice words exchanged, too. Oh, the joys of going downtown every day.

Colm: What happens if you have to poop in heaven?

Me: I don't know. I guess you'll just have to wait and find out.

How else was I supposed to answer that?

I had book club last week and this is our next pick. I recommended it to our group because I have read another book by him that was great, so I am really looking forward to this one. I think next month we are going to try and read a classic, so if anyone has any suggestions that would be great.

This was our latest book club pick. I did not like this book and only finished it because it was for book club. I actually didn't have it finished in time for book club, but was assured at book club that it was very good and that the story would pick up. It did pick up-around page 200. I think I didn't like it because the storyline would be interesting for a while and then nothing would happen for the next 75 pages and it went on and on like that and because it is supposed to be historical, but there is NO WAY that some of the things that happened in this book can be accurate. There just isn't enough known about da Vinci himself, let alone his mother. If you read the reviews on Amazon, people either loved it or were skeptical like me.

Saturday-Pasta with Meatballs
Sunday-Italian Sausage and Italian Tomatoes
Monday-Tacos
Tuesday-Italian Chicken with Potatoes
Wednesday-Salmon, Green Beans, Rice Pilaf
Thursday-Southwest Strata, Salad
Friday-Out to Eat?

This weekend Sean and I were discussing my FIL's upcoming trip to Europe. Colm overheard us say "Europe" and started in on how Indians live in Europe. Hmmm... Sean and I approached it from every angle we could think of that he might be coming from, but none of them were "right" according to Colm. He insisted that "Indians with bows and arrows" live in Europe. Once Colm gets his mind set on something, there is no convincing him otherwise. He gets this look on his face (which also happens to be the look he gets on his face when he's fibbing.) Stubborn little fellow he is. I wonder where he gets that from? :)

Why are children so fickle when it comes to the things they like to eat? For example, Colm ate pickles from the time he was physically capable of eating them until about a year or so ago. He didn't just like them either. He would beg for them at the store. If you were at a restaurant and you had one of your plate, he would more than likely steal it from you. Then, all of a sudden one day, he decided he didn't like them any more and refused to eat them. Why? Honestly, I think he might have gotten ahold of a sweet pickle when he was used to eating dill and that just ruined it for him. So, this weekend we were at the store and he asked for a jar of pickles. I hate to waste food, so I was a little skeptical, but he promised me he would eat them. Well, he loves them. He has eaten one at home and I put one in his lunch for school today and he told me he wants two or three in his lunch for tomorrow. Whatever, I won't complain, it's a veggie-right?

On the way home from the grocery store...

Me: Sean, I got you some chocolate Z-Bars.

Colm: So he'll stop whining.

Out of the mouths of babes...

Monday-I dropped Colm off at school and then went to Wal-Mart to shop for Easter Egg Hunt supplies. Was headed to Border's to buy the book I needed to have finished in three days for book club when my phone rings and my sister-in-law needs me to babysit. Her son's preschool was unexpectedly closed for the day and she has to go to work. So, I turn around, get Luke, and head for Bible Study which conveniently has babysitting. After Bible Study, Luke and I went home and had lunch and played for a while. His mom came to get him and it was time to go get the boys from school, go to violin, cook dinner, etc., etc.

Tuesday-Take Colm to school, stay at school and tutor kindergartners and first graders. Then help in the school library by typing labels for the spines of new books. Come home and go into hyper-drive mode to get numerous things done for the Easter Egg Hunt like publicity so people know when, where, etc. Go pick up the boys, go to Catechesis, head home, cook dinner, etc, etc,

Wednesday-Take Colm to school, come home and clean up my house which was a total pit, then go on a field trip with Colm's class which was fun but VERY tiring. I had nine boys in my group. Yes, nine pre-kinder boys. Come home, rest for a bit, then go pick up the boys from school, go to Tae Kwon Do, cook dinner, etc. etc. (If you are wondering why all the etc's it involves our nightly routine of violin practice, getting read for bed and all that good stuff.) I fell asleep on the couch that night I was so tired.

Thursday-Drop off Colm at school, come home and eat breakfast and then head to Liam's school to help the art teacher. Help her for a little over two hours and then head to a birthday lunch at North for a very dear friend of mine. Awesome lunch with great friends and a surprise appearance from Gary Lezak who happened to be eating there and was an acquaintance of one of the gals I was eating lunch with. He apologized for this weekend's weather. Go pick up the boys from school, come home and piddle around for a while, cook dinner, go to a soccer meeting, go to book club, go pick up wine for Gourmet tomorrow and then get gas. Head home and sleep.

Friday-Take Colm to school, go to coffee with the other first grade moms, come home, change clothes, head to Gourmet...good food with good friends, go pick up the boys from school, come home and piddle around, head to Spin for dinner, come home and watch KU. Very tired. I am looking forward to next week when there is less to do. I am not complaining though. I had a great week filled with fun school activities and plenty of social activities for myself.

Sunday-Tatum's Birthday Dinner
Monday-Rotisserie Chicken, Green Beans, Biscuits
Tuesday-Chicken Bacon and Ranch Subs, Baked Beans
Wednesday-Piggy Pudding, Cantaloupe
Thursday-Italian Chicken and Potatoes
Friday-Southwest Strata and Salad
Saturday-Fajitas
Sunday-Italian Sausage and Peppers

Colm got a lot of Berenstain Bears books at the library last week. This one, in particular, has been his favorite. How many times have we read it to him this week? I don't know, but I am glad we are going to the library today so we can take it back.

Today I took the boys shopping for some summer/spring clothes while Sean went to work out. They are having a super duper sale at Carter's, plus I had a coupon for 20% off. Colm scored big time. Poor Liam is too big for Carter's now. We tried, but they just don't fit. He did get a new pair of much needed jammies, but that was it. I promised Liam I would take him somewhere else some other day. We all met up at home, ate lunch and then went to go see my grandma. It was great to see her and I am glad the boys got to spend some time with her. She is 91 years old, she has a terrible time getting around and does not leave the house, so I know that visitors are very important to her. After Grandma's, we came home, Liam changed into his soccer gear and we headed out to his first soccer practice of the season. Then my father-in-law came over for dinner because my mother-in-law has been in the hospital since Sunday with pneumonia. (Prayers for her speedy recovery would be much appreciated.) No pics from today. Sorry!

Sean took off work today and tomorrow so we could do some things together as a family. So, Sean stayed home with the kids this morning so that I could go visit with his mom who has been in the hospital all week. We got in trouble with her doctor for talking though (she needs to rest her throat) so I didn't get to stay too long. I made lunch for everyone when I got home and then we headed out the door to go bowling. We had a great time bowling, but I totally lost. Completely. Then we played putt-putt. This is the first time the boys have ever played putt-putt and they had a blast. We didn't keep score, which was a good thing. Colm did come up with his own scoring system though, which I never did quite figure out. After that we went and explored a new park. It has a park/playground area, but then if you walk up the path a bit there is an old one-room schoolhouse, a nature center and a camping ground with these really nice cabins you can rent. There is also an amphitheater where the boys, Sean and I performed dances made up by the boys. (I am sure anyone who might have been watching must have thought we were cracked...it was fun though.)

From March 2009

From March 2009

I love going to Korma Sutra and one of the reasons I love it so much is because of the mango lassi. I had to buy some frozen mango for a recipe I made for dinner tonight, but had some left over. I was trying to figure out what to do with it when I had a lightbulb moment...maybe I could make my own mango lassi. With a little help from Google, I found a recipe that I could handle. I whipped one up and it was super yummy!!! Then I had another lightbulb moment...maybe I could make mango lassi popsicles. I think it would probably work. The boys would love them and they would make awesome treats to have around the house this summer.

Today the kids and I had lunch with Sean at work in their cafeteria. Oh, what fun!!! The boys love cafeterias...there's so much to choose from and they always get more than they could ever possibly eat. Then Sean took us on a little tour and let the boys play in his office for a few minutes. It was time to say good bye to dad so we headed over to Matt Ross to go swimming. I have never seen so many people there. The boys had a good time. They spent most of their time in the lazy river and going down the slide. They loved the slide because it is usually closed when we are there. I guess I had an okay time, but there were just so many people there that I felt like I had to be on high alert the whole time just to make sure the kids were safe. (No, I don't think the teenagers with the Lifeguard shirts on could effectively watch all of those people.)

Look at all the food on Colm's tray! No, he didn't eat all of it.

From March 2009

Hanging out in Dad's office while testing the new software...Liam is a beta-tester. :)

From March 2009

Today we went to Kaleidoscope. This was Colm's first time. He really enjoyed it and Liam liked showing him around. Then we met the cousins at Antioch Park, had a picnic and played and played and played. And if that wasn't enough, then we went to Sheridan's.

Playing with some really strong magnets at Kaleidoscope.

From March 2009

Being crafty

From March 2009

Making his puzzle..that was always my favorite part

From March 2009

Climbing at the park

From March 2009

Custard!!!

From March 2009

We did absolutely nothing all morning which was AWESOME!!! We finally got ourselves together, went up to church to play on the playground, went to Mass, then went to Waldo Pizza. Then we went to Reading Reptile, Brookside Toy and Science and then topped it off with some ice cream. Then we came home, had a potty break and headed to the neighborhood park. I am loving this weather!

Typing it old school at Reading Reptile

From March 2009

He loves that green chair

From March 2009

Can you tell he was eating chocolate ice cream?

From March 2009

Sunday-Migas with Bacon, Cantaloupe
Monday-Rotel chicken with rice
Tuesday-Spicy Chicken and Mango Stir Fry
Wednesday-Southwest Tuna Casserole
Thursday-Sloppy Joes and Cole Slaw
Friday-Fish Fry

Liam had a violin concert this weekend. (Thank you, Candy, for taking pictures.) Liam played Bach's Minuet 1 and he did a mighty fine job. When he saw the pictures of himself that Candy sent to us he said, "I DO look pretty nice." Cute, talented and humble.

From March 2009

I read somewhere once that sometimes children, as they start to reach their birthday, start to act out. Their body and mind are going through various changes and sometimes that results in the child acting like another person entirely. I hope that is Colm's case right now. He has lost so many privileges this week. I kind of feel bad for him because it seems as if the privilege loss doesn't seem to be working and he is a bit defeated, but how much can you take away from a preschooler? I can't take away his car, or his iPod or restrict his iChat time. He has lost TV time and his books at bedtime. I have even threatened to not let him go to kindergarten next year if he keeps acting like this because I wouldn't ask a kindergarten teacher to put up with this kind of behavior all day. He was upset when I said that, but not upset enough to change his ways. (Heavy sigh.) I remember going through something like this last year as Liam's sixth birthday approached. (He did manage to get through his seventh birthday unscathed.) So, please God, let this be a phase that will soon pass.

I would like to introduce the newest member of our family...JellyBean. Okay, actually she is one of Colm's class pets, but we are in charge of caring for her over Spring Break. I hate to say it, but I love her already. I want one of my own. Look how cute she is. Did I mention that we already have a dog and two cats? I'll just have to enjoy the next ten days. Also, the boys are ecstatic that she is with us. Colm is a little too overzealous and I had to reassign JellyBean to the kitchen from Colm's bedroom. (I wasn't sure he could be trusted in his room alone with her. After only turning my back long enough to go into the garage to get something out of the car, he had climbed up on the island, taken off the top of her cage and put three toilet paper rolls in there for her to play with. She can have toilet paper rolls, but not three at the same time and he clearly doesn't get that she needs to stay in her cage and that if she gets out the cats and/or dog will eat her.) Now you see why she has been stationed in the neutral area known as our kitchen.

From March 2009

I never read the prologues in books; I just want to get to the story. I am so glad I did with this one. I don't know why I did either. Honestly, I think it was because it was short. Anyways, this is such a good story. The first chapter or two may not draw you in, but stick with it...it picks up from there AND it has a fantastic ending. I would have never guessed the ending...ever.

We just finished week five of our ten week Bible Study and it is getting interesting, mainly because of the gals who are in the Bible Study. Everyone in the study is from my neighborhood and the Study is made up women who represent various beliefs...there are a few Catholics, Baptists, a Mormon, a Jew (who was raised Southern Baptist) and several other Protestant denominations. Clearly, we have some differing viewpoints, but we have been able to respectfully disagree so far. Last week we were talking about how you get into heaven...is it by the work you do here on earth, is it because you have been baptized, is it because you have accepted Jesus into your heart or is it a combination of some of the above? Can anyone (rapists, murderers and the like) get into heaven if they confess their sins and truly ask for forgiveness? Today we somehow got on the topic of homosexuals. Again, very differing viewpoints. We may not be staying on topic, but it sure is interesting.

Liam is taking over Colm's post for this week. I had to boot Colm out for the week because Liam's interests have swung in another direction and I just had to capture it. Liam has spent the last year or so reading every science fiction book in the children's section of the library plus many of the other series that are popular with the elementary crowd. He has read all of the A to Z Mysteries, all the Magic Tree Houses, all the of the Beast Quests, all the Secrets of Droon and all of the Jack Stalwart books and the list goes on and on...anyways, the point being that we were getting to the point where the library didn't have anything for him to read that he was interested in and then (drum roll, please)...he found the section in the library with the books about alien abductions, Bigfoot, UFOs, Atlantis and the like. He is obsessed. I am so glad he has found some other reading interests that also happen to be translating into topics for his weekly reports he has to write for school (which he was starting to have trouble coming up with topics for). I am hoping these topics will at least carry him through the summer and then maybe he will stumble upon something else that interests him.

Sunday- Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup
Monday-Fajitas
Tuesday-Roasted Chicken, Green Beans, Rolls
Wednesday-Rotel Chicken with Rice
Thursday-Lasagna
Friday-Veggie Burgers and Potato Salad
Saturday-Out to Dinner

We had just gone to the library and the boys were looking at their books in the back seat:

C: Why is there a skeleton in that person's yard?

L: Oh, no, that's Massachusetts a long time ago.

I have no idea what they were looking at, but the conversation struck me funny.

Liam is having a sleepover tonight and they wanted to watch Return of the Jedi. Sure, no problem, except we told them they had to wait for Colm to go to bed before they watched it. Our kids understand that there are some movies they are not allowed to watch and Colm gets that Star Wars movies are not on his "approved" list yet and he was totally fine with them watching it without him. (Which totally surprised me, by the way.) What was so funny was that as I was giving Colm his vitamins in the kitchen on our way up to bed, Sean was putting the movie in. Colm started freaking out...afraid he was going to see or hear some of this forbidden movie before he got upstairs. He was yelling no and covering his ears trying to get his vitamins out of my hands as quickly as possible so he could run upstairs before it started. I don't know what he thinks is going to happen if he watches a movie that we haven't approved for him...maybe he thinks he'll turn into Chewbacca.

When Liam got up this morning, he asked me if Sean and I had watched a movie last night after he had gone to bed. I told him that we hadn't and then he proceeded to argue with me about it. He was adamant that we had. Then he dramatically pointed to the inside of the trashcan and said, "Then what's this?!!!" It was an empty bag of microwave popcorn. Sherlock Liam had determined that where there is popcorn, there MUST be a movie. His whole tone was so funny. He knew he was right, it was just a matter of getting me to "admit" that we had watched a movie and had popcorn without him.

Monday-Spaghetti with Italian Sausage
Tuesday-Mexican Salad
Wednesday-Chicken Enchiladas
Thursday-Salmon, Salad, Sourdough Bread with Honey Butter
Friday-French Toast and Eggs
Saturday-Out to Eat

Yesterday was Liam's annual violin workshop. It's a one-day camp where they have a master's class, a technique class, usually a large play-in and then some other music-related-but-not-violin class. This year's workshop focused on fiddling and folk music and Liam really liked it. He learned how to play the dulcimer from a grandpa-type guy who was an awesome teacher and also happens to make dulcimers,too. He looked like he could substitute for Santa, was very enthusiastic and worked well with the kids. Liam also took a fiddling class which was also very cool. It was taught by one of the men that runs the fiddling camp that I would love Liam to go to someday. It's a day camp that takes place in the summer at a middle school north of the river. The man said Liam could take it because from what he saw he looked like he's ready, but technically they want kids to be in Book 2. He's almost there, but not quite, so I think we will wait until next summer. He'll be just that much more prepared and will get that much more out of it. Anyways, the workshop was awesome and this is the only picture I have from the entire day. I forgot my camera.

Learning to play the dulcimer

We had book club last night. We discussed the last book we read and then chose Signora da Vinci as our next read. This is the review that helped us decide that was the book we wanted to read...

“In this exquisite gem of a novel, Robin Maxwell conjures a fascinating account of Leonardo Da Vinci's mother, a bold woman whose adventurous spirit and quest for her own truth captures the exuberance of the Italian Renaissance. Though little is known of the historical Caterina da Vinci, Maxwell's impressive research and keen storytelling skills sweep us into a very plausible account of a young alchemist's daughter whose unfortunate love affair brings her the greatest love of her life - her genius son - as well as the opportunity to escape the restrictions of her gender and enter a seductive garden of philosophy, art, learning, and danger. From the dusty streets of Vinci to the glories of Lorenzo Il Magnifico's Florence and the conspiratorial halls of Rome and Milan, Signora da Vinci is a tour de force celebration of one woman's unquenchable ardor for knowledge and of a secret world that historical fiction readers rarely see.”
—C.W. Gortner, author of The Last Queen

We had our own little Mardi Gras party here last night complete with beads and a King Cake. Our King Cake wasn't very fancy, but it did have some hidden uncooked pasta noodles in it for the kids to find. (I figured they wouldn't choke on penne as opposed to kidney beans.) Anyways, the noodles were found and our kings were crowned. They had so much fun we did it again tonight. There's enough cake left for a few more nights of crowning. It's amazing how the noodles always seem to end up in the boys' slices of cake and no one else's...

From February 2009

Monday-Stir Fry
Tuesday-Chinese Salad
Wednesday-Veggie Tacos
Thursday-Oven Fried Chicken, Biscuits, Salad
Friday-Baked French Toast, Eggs
Saturday-Chicken Enchiladas

Such a good book! It was a quick read, too. Not only was it a good story, but I had to keep reminding myself that it was non-fiction. The story takes place around World War I on a poor street in England. The interesting thing about the street is that half of it is Jewish and the other half is Christian and, for the most part, the two sides don't interact or even talk with one another. Even though they may not be speaking with one another, there are several stories brewing on both sides of the street and that is what keeps you reading. This author has written another biography, as well, and I am on the waiting list at the library for that one.

My plan today was to: take Colm to school, help the librarian at Colm's school for about an hour, go help the art teacher at Liam's school for most of the day, go home and watch the video I needed to watch for Bible Study and then go pick up the boys from school. This is how it actually went: took Colm to school and as I was getting ready to go upstairs to the library the secretary asked me if I could help serve lunch today since the parent who was supposed to do it was out of town, I said yes, decided I could help in the library tomorrow, drove to Liam's school and helped the art teacher for about 45 minutes, drove back to Colm's school, served lunch and ate lunch with Colm, drove back to Liam's school and helped the art teacher a little bit more, drove back to Colm's school, picked him up and then went and got Liam. I'm tired from all that driving.

Sunday-Liam's family birthday party
Monday-Breaded chicken, rice, green beans
Tuesday-Pasta alla Carbonara
Wednesday-Sloppy Joes and Potato Salad
Thursday-Stir Fry
Friday-Noodle Bowls
Saturday-Italian Wedding Soup

The boys didn't have school today, so we went with some friends down to Crown Center. One of the things that we did at Crown Center was visit Chip's Chocolate Factory. They watched a batch or two of fudge being made and got to sample both, learned about the history of chocolate and where it comes from, and learned about some tasty chocolate treats we can make at home. We had more samples than we probably needed and THEN got to take home a goody bag of treats as well.

From February 2009

From February 2009

From February 2009

From February 2009

From February 2009